The Mac turns 30

The computer beeped to life with a robotic “Hello, I’m Macintosh” at an Apple shareholder meeting in Cupertino, Calif., on Jan. 24, 1984. It was named Macintosh 128K and came with a $2,495 price tag and 128 kilobytes of memory. The Mac has changed shape and sizes — both physically and technologically — several times since its introduction by Steve Jobs.

I spoke with Tim Bajarin, president of Creative Strategies in San Jose, about the Macintosh’s reception in 1984 and its signature moments in the decades afterward. He was one of the industry analysts in the audience on Mac’s birthday. ”None of us sat there and said, ‘Wow, we’re witnessing history,’ ” he said. “What we basically said is ‘This is an interesting, fascinating take on a new concept in computing. Let’s see what happens.’ ”

Take a look at some of the things that happened on the path to our current MacBook Airs, Mac Pros, and iMacs.